Philip Pearsall Carpenter (4 November 1819 – 24 May 1877) was an English minister who emigrated to Canada, where his field work as a
malacologist
Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...
or
conchologist
Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...
is still well regarded today. A man of many talents, he wrote, published, taught, and was a volunteer explaining the growing study of
shells in North America.
Life
Philip P. Carpenter was born in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, England on 4 November 1819. His father was
Lant Carpenter
Lant Carpenter, Dr. (2 September 1780 – 5 or 6 April 1840) was an English educator and Christian Unitarianism, Unitarian Minister (Christianity), minister.
Early life
Lant Carpenter was born in Kidderminster, the third son of George Carpenter ...
, a notable educator and Unitarian minister. His mother was Anna or Hannah Penn, daughter of John Penn and Mary. Anna was christened on 11 May 1787 in
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in the ...
,
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
.
[Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2009, DVD format. The subject in RIN 25572.]
P. P. Carpenter, as he was called, was educated at
Trinity Bristol College, and then
Manchester College (then at
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, now at Oxford), gaining a BA from the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
in 1841, the year of his ordination as a minister. Carpenter was a vegetarian and joined the
Vegetarian Society
The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is a British registered charity which was established on 30 September 1847 to promote vegetarianism.
History
In the 19th century a number of groups in Britain actively promoted and followed meat ...
in 1851.
Carpenter was a Presbyterian minister in
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
between 1846 and 1862 and he studied the collection of shells in
the local museum between 1860 and 1865, before moving to Canada. He earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in 1860. He married Minnie Meyer in 1860. Minnie was born about 1830 in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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, utc_offset1 = +1
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, postal ...
, Germany. Her parents are unknown.
Carpenter died 24 May 1877 in the
Saint Antoine Ward of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, of
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
complicated by
rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...
. His widow was still living in their house in 1881.
[Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2009, DVD format. Canada census schedules 1881, Department of Agriculture, Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; nos.: C-13162 – C-13286, Rec. group 31 – C-13219 page 79, household 347.]
The town of his birth erected a memorial
drinking fountain
A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...
to him, in Bank Gardens by
the town hall.
Notable siblings
Mary Carpenter
Mary Carpenter (3 April 1807 – 14 June 1877) was an English educational and social reformer. The daughter of a Unitarian minister, she founded a ragged school and reformatories, bringing previously unavailable educational opportunitie ...
was born on 3 April 1807 in
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...
, Worcester. She was a social reformer.
who founded of the
Ragged school
Ragged schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century Britain. The schools were developed in working-class districts. Ragged schools were intended for society's most destitute children ...
movement. She died on 14 June 1877 and was buried in
Arnos Vale, Bristol
Brislington West is a council ward of the city of Bristol, England. It covers the western part of Brislington, together with Arnos Vale and Kensington Park.
Brislington
Brislington is one of the largest suburbs of Bristol, southeast of the ci ...
, England. She is mentioned in brother William's insert in the ''
Dictionary of Scientific Biography
The ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' is a scholarly reference work that was published from 1970 through 1980 by publisher Charles Scribner's Sons, with main editor the science historian Charles Gillispie, from Princeton University. It consi ...
'' by
Charles Coulton Gillispie
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
.
William Benjamin Carpenter
William Benjamin Carpenter CB FRS (29 October 1813 – 19 November 1885) was an English physician, invertebrate zoologist and physiologist. He was instrumental in the early stages of the unified University of London.
Life
Carpenter was born ...
was born on 29 October 1813 in
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, Devon, England. He became a zoologist and worked as his brother did on invertebrates. He died on 19 November 1885 in London and was buried in
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
, London.
[
]
Partial bibliography
* Gould, A.A., and P.P. Carpenter. 1856. Descriptions of shells from the Gulf of California and the Pacific coasts of Mexico and California. Part II. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1856(24): 198–208.
* Carpenter, P.P. 1856. Monograph of the shells collected by T. Nuttall, Esq., on the California coast, in the years 1834-5. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1856(24):209–229.
* Carpenter, P.P. 1857. Report on the present state of our knowledge with regard to the Mollusca of the west coast of North America. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 1856: 159–368 + 4 plates.
* Carpenter, P.P. 1857. Catalogue of the collection of Mazatlan shells, in the British Museum: collected by Frederick Reigen. London. 552 pp.
* Carpenter, P.P. 1857
Catalogue of the collection of Mazatlan shells, in the British Museum: collected by Frederick Reigen. 2nd ed. Oberlin Press, Warrington i–viii + i–xii + 552 pp.
* Carpenter, P.P. 857
__NOTOC__
Year 857 ( DCCCLVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Emperor Michael III, under the influence of his uncle Bardas, banis ...
1967. eprint ofCatalogue of the collection of Mazatlan shells, in the British Museum: collected by Frederick Reigen. ritish Museum, LondonPaleontological Research Institute, Ithaca, NY i–iv + ix–xvi + 552 pp.
* Carpenter, P.P. 1860. Lectures on molluscs. Smithsonian Report 1860:117.Carpenter, P.P. 1872. The molluscs of Western North America, 1872. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 12: 1–446.
References
Further reading
* Galbraith, I.C.J., and P. Dance. 1961. British Museum (Natural History). memorial to Philip Pearsal Carpenter (Abstract). American Malacological Union, Inc. Annual Reports. 1960(27): 10–12.
* Gould, A.A., and P.P. Carpenter. 1856. Descriptions of shells from the Gulf of California and the Pacific coasts of Mexico and California. Part II. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1856(24): 198–208.
* Hanna, G.D., L.G. Hertlein, and A.G. Smith. 1961. California Academy of Sciences. memorial to Philip Pearsal Carpenter (Abstract). American Malacological Union, Inc. Annual Reports. 1960(27): 9–10.
* Kellogg, R., and H.A. Rehder. 1961. Smithsonian Institution. memorial to Philip Pearsal Carpenter (Abstract). American Malacological Union, Inc. Annual Reports. 1960(27): 12.
*
External links
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Philip Pearsall
English naturalists
English Christian religious leaders
Conchologists
1819 births
1877 deaths
Alumni of the University of London
Clergy from Bristol
English malacologists
19th-century Presbyterian ministers
Scientists from Bristol